Monthly Archives: June 2022

In Elle.com's recurring feature Character Study, we ask the creators behind our favorite shows to go deep about what went in to creating their memorable characters: the original idea behind them, how they were tailored to the actor and elements of them we might not see on the screen.

Minor spoilers for the Hacks season 2 finale below.

Ahead of the second season finale of HBO Maxs Hacks, we spoke to showrunners Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky about series co-lead Ava, a zennial comedy writer played by Hannah Einbinder whos fired after posting a poorly-received tweet and forced to move to Las Vegas and write for Jean Smarts veteran comedian Deborah Vance.

When they were first conceiving the show, the trio wanted to explore a specific generational conflict. The idea was originally about Deborah and the idea of women of a certain age in the arts, but specifically in comedy, who just never had their due, and how younger people who wouldnt have had the opportunities they have if it werent for the older women, says Aniello. That was kind of the idea of the origin of Ava... we knew that we wanted her to be somebody who had a lot to learn.

Ava has a sharp wit and tough edges and over the course of two seasons, she changes and grows: Her humor remains but her understanding of others and ability to connect with them gradually flourish. People seem to have such little empathy for a young woman whos figuring it out. I think that thats really sad, Aniello says. Sometimes theres male characters who are, I think, a little bit less dimensional, [but] are able to be kind of blindly beloved in a way that I wish people could feel about [Ava], as well. I hope they do.

The three creators spoke with ELLE.com about bringing Ava to life.

Courtesy of HBO Max

Aniello: Thats part of the reason that we wanted to, over the course of the series, explore more of her backstory and her home life, especially her relationship with her mom. We learn in the pilot that she, financially at least, supports or supplements her parents living. In that way, she not only has to get a job, but [we] also wanted to just say this is somebody who has a relationship, with especially her mother, that is fraught and she is disconnected from.

We also wanted her to be somebody who was lonely and I think we've also said in the past that she wasnt very cool in high school. Somebody who really felt like a loser until she got into the cool comedy clique for a while and started being liked by those people. She really drank the juice of that. And it went to her head, and it went too far, and she kind of became an entitled-ish kind of person that eventually gets sent off into the outskirts of Las Vegas. I think that its an interesting place to meet her, as somebody who still had a lot to learn about the world and herself.

Courtesy of HBO Max

Statsky: I think you can definitely trace a line from her getting wrapped up in Deborah, and becoming so involved in that person's world, which, granted, is something that happens a lot with famous people in their ecosystem, in general. Thats something we wanted to explore. But I think you can trace a line from Ava becoming so enveloped in Deborah's world to the fact that she is someone who grew up with not a super strong home life and not a family connection that grounds her.

Karen Ballard/HBO Max

Aniello: Her style is kind of in between my style and Jens style.

Statsky: Our costume designer, Kathleen Felix-Hager, does a terrific job, but there are a lot of things throughout the course of the series that either are mine or Lucias, that Ava has worn. I think she falls in the middle of the two of us, which, there isnt even that far of a gap, anyway.

Aniello: I dont know. You wear more high-waisted pants.

Downs: We got what we wanted, because we wanted, when we were first talking about her, to feel a little bit hard. And also to be really in contrast to Deborah Vance, who is all about animal prints and dressing that feminine way. Obviously, Ava has a more androgynous look, I guess more gender-neutral look, and that has to do, partly, with her generation and gender expression. She has a very different idea of what gender is, as a construct, than Deborah does. We wanted that to be reflected in her style and her mannerisms.

Downs: Hannah vaped in the audition, and I think that that was one of the reasons we incorporated so much vaping. We were like, That's rad.

Statsky: In the scene she auditioned with, shes opposite Jimmy, [Downs character] and complaining about this situation shes found herself in. After a very, kind of sad, woe is me line, she hit her vape really hard and it made us all laugh so much. It was just something that Hannah brought to the audition. So yeah, theres countless things that Hannah has brought to the character and the mannerisms.

As far as tweaking, Hannah has such a specific cadence and speed at which she speaks. Guys, correct me if Im wrong, but maybe we thought Ava would speak a little bit faster than she does. But Hannah has such a unique timing that it really made the character so specific and unique.

Jake Giles Netter/HBO Max

Downs: The history of the character is that she got plucked off the internet and basically didnt finish college because she got a job writing on a cool TV show. And I'm sorry, I don't remember the rest of the question. One of the things that I think is most autobiographical about the show, Ill speak for myself but I think Lucia and Jen will agree, is that comedy was the thing that made us feel connected to other people. When we were able to make sketches or make jokes with people, Ill just say for me, as a little weirdo, it was something that really enriched my life and made me feel connected to people. We wanted to give that characteristic to both of these women, because in the end theyre both very lonely and its their sense of humor that turns the other on and really connects them.

Aniello: I don't think that they were super deep. I think that they were a little bit based on the IMDb STARmeter. I think that is part of what made her so superficial, especially when we first meet her, is that she didnt treat people super well and I think had a reputation for it. The reason she gets canceled for a tweet isnt really true. She wasnt the best person, and people didnt really want to deal with her anymore. And so, something like that happening gave everybody an excuse to say, Great, now we dont have to work with this person anymore. Because, shes always looking over our shoulder to see who else is in the room whos cooler than us. I think while she does say how she feels all the time, shes willing to be vulnerable. Thats something I think she grows into as the series progresses.

Courtesy of HBO Max

Aniello: Redhead. Just kidding.

Statsky: Cool clothes.

Downs: Impulsivity.

Statsky: I think shes very honest. I think shes an honest person and pushes other people to be honest and seek that out.

Downs: I think she has a sense of what's right. She has a strong sense of what's right, at least to her.

Aniello: Whether shes right or wrong all the time is debatable, but I think generally, she falls on the side of right. We love her.

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.

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How the 'Hacks' Showrunners Created Ava - ELLE

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BEAMSVILLE, Ontario, June 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An op-ed, Why is plain packaging for e-cigarettes no longer required in B.C.?, published by The Province, questions British Columbias decision to amend the plain packaging requirement for vape products. The authors imply that this decision was the result of tobacco and vaping industry lobbying; one of several claims demonstrating the authors misunderstanding of vaping and the Canadian regulated industry.

Although plain packaging regulation came into force in August 2020, the plain packaging requirement was never defined. This created significant challenges for both vape companies and enforcement officers.

The CVA takes regulatory compliance very seriously and communicates all regulatory requirements to our membership. When the E-Substance Regulation was enacted, the CVA contacted the Ministry of Health multiple times throughout 2020 and 2021 trying to obtain a plain packaging definition and guidance, said Darryl Tempest, Government Relations Counsel to the CVA Board.

Despite British Columbias amendment to plain packaging, youth and non-smokers continue to be protected from inducements to vaping through extensive federal regulation. The Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA), Vaping Products Labelling and Packaging Regulations (VPLPR) and Vaping Products Promotion Regulation (VPPR), give Canada the strongest regulation globally. Where vaping products or advertising can be seen by youth, federal regulations prohibit:

Additionally, the following statements are required:

Federally, Health Canada has taken a strong and balanced approach to labelling requirements. The restrictions are some of the most extensive in the world and allow for the use of colour and some plain design elements in the limited space that is not used for required warnings and text. According to Health Canada, vaping is less harmful than smoking. Reasonably, the regulatory requirements between the two products must be different, said Tempest.

In addition to expressing discontent with B.C.s changes to labelling requirements, the op-ed is used to propagate debunked myths about vapings efficacy and vaping leading to smoking.

A systematic review of vapings efficacy concludes, nicotine-containing e-cigarettes are superior to NRT, non-nicotine-containing e-cigarettes and behavioural interventions in helping people quit cigarettes. This is evidenced by the tens of millions of people globally who have quit smoking using a vape product. In fact, New Zealand and the United Kingdoms goal is to be smoke-free by 2025 and 2030 respectively, and vaping products play a role in their strategy.

In regard to vaping leading youth to smoke, Health Canada states, There have also been concerns that an increase in youth vaping may lead to increases in youth smoking rates in Canada. However, recent data suggests that, thus far, this has not been the case. Smoking rates, for both youth and adults, continue to decline and are at an all-time low. The prevalence of daily smoking among youth aged 15 to 19 years was so low (small sample size) that it was considered to be 'unreportable' in 2020.

Concern that amendments to vaping regulation could weaken youth protection is warranted, however we are confident that British Columbias youth will remain protected through enforcement of the provinces E-Substances Regulation and the existing federal regulation. The province is well positioned to continue to protect youth and non-smokers, concluded Tempest.

Darryl TempestGovernment Relations Council to the CVA Board[emailprotected]647-274-1867

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The Canadian Vaping Association: British Columbia's youth and non-smokers will continue to be protected through strong federal labelling and packaging...

Newswise SEATTLE June 2, 2022 Below are summaries of recent Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center research findings and other news.

If youre covering the American Society of Clinical Oncologys annual meeting, June 3 - 7, highlights from Fred Hutch researchers include:

-Dr. Joe Unger will discuss broadening clinical trial eligibility to include cancer patients with brain metastases and the impact of the Medicaid expansion in increasing participation in clinical trials for patients insured through Medicaid in two separate oral presentations.

- Fred Hutch researchers will insights on skin cancer in vulnerable populations, new treatment approaches for Merkel cell carcinoma and research on the genomics of neuroendocrine prostate cancer. See a list of Fred Hutch ASCO presentations.

Contact [emailprotected] for help setting up interviews with experts.

Public health

Hutch trial will test new app to help teens stop vaping Public health researcher Dr. Jonathan Bricker is launching a new research project to help teens stop vaping. The study will develop and test, via a randomized controlled trial, the first-ever mobile smartphone app to help teens stop vaping nicotine. He plans to adapt a digital therapeutics app he designed to help adults quit smoking cigarettes, Quit2Heal, into an age-appropriate app to help younger people stop vaping.

Lessons from mom: How to be the best immune system you can be Much like actual infants, infant immune systems are short on experience. They need to be taught how to differentiate friend from foe, when to fight and when to make peace. These early lessons can have long-term implications for an infants immune system, microbiome and general health. In a Q&A, Dr. Meghan Koch explains her research in mice on how breast milks immune proteins shape the infant immune system.

Cancer research

Science Says: The promise of precision medicine Drs. Chris Li, Alice Berger and Lucas Sullivan discussed new innovations and work in precision oncology with Fred Hutch President and Director Dr. Thomas Lynch. Researchers are learning how to stop cancer by sequencing a patients tumor, studying its metabolism, tracking the immune systems response and more.

Solid tumors use a type of T cell as a shield against immune attack A team led by Hutch immunologist Dr. Martin Prlic, staff scientist Dr. Florian Mair and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Jami Erickson published findings that reveal an unexpected trick in cancers playbook that may fool an important component of our immune systems into knocking down our natural defenses against solid tumors. They identified a subset of T cells that show up in great numbers in head and neck tumors, but not in similar tissues of the mouth inflamed by common ailments such as gum disease.

HIV research

Test of a new 'germline-targeting' HIV vaccine prepares to launch Fred Hutch immunologist Dr. Leo Stamatatos has been developing an HIV vaccine since 2013, and now its ready for its first phase of testing in human volunteers. The trial, which will be run by the Hutch-based HIV Vaccine Trials Network under the name HVTN 301, will enroll 52 participants at six sites across the U.S., including at the Vaccine Trials Unit in Seattle.

Health equity

Indigenous health equity focus of Pathways Symposium This years Pathways to Equity Symposium, hosted by the Fred Hutch/University of Washington/Seattle Childrens Cancer Consortium, featured keynote speaker Dr. Donald Warne, who d personal experiences of health inequity in indigenous communities and how communities need to come together to enact change. The program also featured updates from the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement and the presentation of two health equity awards.

Science spotlight Science Spotlight is a monthly installment of articles written by postdoctoral fellows at Fred Hutch that summarize new research papers from Hutch scientists.

A bit of hit and miss how well antibody responses in pre-clinical models resemble human responses

Breaking down barriers: Language and survival outcomes after transplant

Do viruses have heads, shoulders, knees, and toes?

Good and surprising news finds germline mutations are rare in low-risk prostate cancer

Access to Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials: A County-Level Analysis

# # #

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is an independent, nonprofit, unified adult cancer care and research center that is clinically integrated with UW Medicine, a world leader in clinical care, research and learning. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center was created in April 2022 by the merger of longtime partners, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Together, our fully integrated research and clinical care teams seek to discover new cures for the worlds deadliest diseases and make life beyond cancer a reality.

The first National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in the Pacific Northwest, Fred Hutch is a global leader in bone marrow transplantation, HIV/AIDS, immunotherapy and COVID-19, confirming our reputation as one of the worlds leading cancer, infectious disease and biomedical research centers. Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services, and has network affiliations with hospitals in five states.

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Fred Hutch at ASCO, mobile app to stop teen vaping, breast milk and the infant immune system plus new insights from precision medicine - Newswise

Shareholders will be checking for any update on British American Tobaccos Russian exit as it reports on its progress so far this year.

The business is set to update shareholders on Thursday June 9, months after the Kremlin launched an unprovoked further invasion of Ukraine.

Having lingered for a while after the conflict started, BAT announced in March that it would withdraw from Russia.

The company makes Pall Mall cigarettes and had a market share of around 25% in Russia.

With people growing more health-conscious its important the group cement its place in the market for alternative tobacco products

Analyst Laura Hoy

It is looking for someone to sell its Russian business to, so any update will be of interest to shareholders.

They will also be looking for any impacts that the company sees from the cost-of-living crisis.

It is lucky in a way because of its defensive nature. It is one of many companies in London which performs well even if the economy is in a rut.

Just like medicines and food sold by companies like AstraZeneca and Unilever which are listed in London, people keep on buying cigarettes even during a downturn.

But while sales might not face much of a hit, the company will still be wary about what it is paying to make its products. Raw material and labour costs have spiked in recent months.

It could pass these extra costs on to consumers.

Oddly, the company is also helped if it wants to do this by the tax burden on cigarettes.

Most of the cost of a packet is tax, so even if BAT passes on all its extra costs to buyers it will result in a much smaller percentage increase for products with less tax on them.

Tobacco is a shrinking industry so the most important thing for British American Tobacco is that the groups squeezing every last pound out of its dwindling customer base, said Hargreaves Lansdown equity analyst Laura Hoy.

This is nothing new for BATs investors, though inflation could exacerbate this. To that end margins will be the figure to watch as investors look for evidence of whether rising commodity costs are starting to eat into profits.

Cigarette prices are mostly made up of taxes, though, so rising input costs may not make them all that more expensive for consumers.

When they pick up the trading update on Thursday many investors will search for information on the New Categories business.

This is, BAT hopes, the companys future. It built its business on tobacco, but in recent years it has been on a pivot towards different products.

They include a line of vapes, Vuse, which by one measure is the largest in the world, under-lip nicotine pouches called Velo, and heated tobacco products Glo.

Last year these products generated more than 2 billion in revenue, and this is meant to have more than doubled in just a couple of years, according to BATs targets.

New Categories, which offers smokeless options, is the future so itll be worth watching as well.

The divisions seen delivering 5 billion in revenue by 2025 so wed like to see that its on track to achieving that goal.

This part of the business is still just a small part of the whole, and with people growing more health-conscious its important the group cement its place in the market for alternative tobacco products.

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Russia and vaping in the spotlight as Pall Mall maker BAT to update shareholders - The Independent

Drinking could be banned in the dedicated smoking areas of pubs, clubs and casinos in an attempt to compel more Queenslanders to quit cigarettes.

Designated outdoor smoking areas (DOSAs) could also be moved further away from other patrons, and young people banned from mingling with adult smokers, under proposals released by Queensland Health for public comment.

Queensland is considering another crackdown on smoking.Credit:AP

DOSAs contribute to second-hand smoke exposure, with Queensland Health data showing that in 2018 almost one million Queenslanders (946,000) spent time in a DOSA, and more than half were non-smokers, the department said in a discussion paper.

Smoke-drift from DOSAs into other areas also occurs with data showing two in three patrons reporting smelling smoke in non-smoking areas.

The presence of a DOSA is reported to make it more difficult for people who have recently quit to remain non-smokers. Queensland Health data found the presence of a DOSA makes smokers more likely to smoke (64 per cent), and less confident to resist smoking (51 per cent).

The discussion paper lists a combination of no drinks, smoke-free buffers and no minors in DOSAs as the departments recommended approach.

Pubs and clubs could be forced to restrict smoking even further.Credit:AAP

This option does impose costs on licensees, and to achieve compliance it is assumed that all venues will be required to make adjustments, the department said.

The costs of these adjustments will vary according to the venue design and available space and will range between no cost for relocation of furniture to more substantial costs for structural changes or installation of a buffer screen.

Excerpt from:

Smoking laws set to get tougher in Queensland amid vaping concerns - Brisbane Times

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The e-cigarette market in Dubai is thriving, and we know that there is a growing demand for vaping products. High quality and innovative vapes are the heart and soul of the World Vape Show, said Lawrence Wong, VP of QISITECH. Were excited to showcase our new products which we hope will captivate your attention. We sincerely invite vape advocates to visit our booth and spend a wonderful moment with us.

Who is Geekvape and Qisitech

Geekvape, founded in 2015, is an innovative technology company headquartered in Shenzhen, China. Geekvapes mission is to produce innovation and create reliable user experience for vape industry. Geekvape always listen to different voices, aiming to contribute a positive impact on our society and bring a healthier vape experience to the public. Serving more than 30 million customers globally with the highest standard, Geekvape connects actively on social media with over 2 million people who are creative at work and confident in life.

Qisitech, an industry-leading e-cigarettes manufacturer, was founded in 2016. Qisitech is the subsidiary of the worldwide pioneered innovator Geekvape. They are committed to creating reliable and cutting-edge vaping hardware, including but not limited to, disposable vapes, vape pod systems, and CBD vaporization devices. Qisitech helps vaping brands identify themselves in the competitive market by providing them with comprehensive vaping OEM/ODM solutions. For more information, please visit http://www.qisitech.com and http://www.geekvape.com

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Geekvape and Qisitech Invite You to Experience Trendy Vapes at The World Vape Show 2022 - Vaping Post